Andreychuk Says Bolts Have Had Discussions About Keeping Callahan

2 years ago

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s clock has officially begun as Bolts General Manager Steve Yzerman decides to keep or let loose of unrestricted free agent Ryan Callahan. According to several reports, the Lightning have expressed interest in keeping the 29-year-old forward who was acquired in a trade for then Lightning Captain Martin St. Louis.

One member of the Lightning front office that would like to see Callahan return to Tampa Bay is Dave Andreychuk, who told WDAE’s ‘The Sports Page’ on Friday morning the organization has already discussed a plan to lure Callahan back to the Bolts.

“I know that they’re (Lightning) been talking about that for a little while now to try and get him signed,” said the former Lightning Captain. “I think that he’d be a good part of this team moving forward with his leadership and the way that he plays the game. So hopefully they get it done.”

Callahan played in 20 games with Tampa Bay scoring six goals with five assists. Callahan is an unrestricted free agent and is available to hit the open market right away. GM Steve Yzerman told ESPN.com’s Pierre Lebrun ealier this month that the Bolts would love to keep Callahan in house.

"Yeah, we’d love to sign him," said Yzerman. "He’s a good fit, a good person, a good player, has style of play that really complements our group well; he’s fit in really well. So we hope to sign him. But we won’t talk until after the year."